Giving Compass' Take:

• A U.N. program aims to train traditional leaders in Botswana to respond to conflict resolution in an effort to curb gender-based violence.

• How can donors help support these international programs? 

• Learn the impact of gender-based violence on migration. 

Dozens of traditional leaders in Botswana will take part in a U.N. training programme that aims to help them tackle high rates of gender-based violence in the country, officials and leaders said on Friday.

Nearly 70% of women in the southern African nation have experienced physical or sexual abuse - more than double the global average, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF).

"No elements of traditional culture condone violence," Puso Gaborone, chief of the Batlokwa tribe, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

"Dikgosi (chiefs) are essential stakeholders in addressing issues of violence in communities, and in bringing perperators to book," Gaborone said.

The initiative is a collaboration between Botswana's government, the tribal administration and the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) that aims to equip traditional leaders with the knowledge and skills to tackle gender-based violence.

Jacinta Barrins, the UNDP's Botswana representative, said the scheme would help reach more people.

"If we are able to reach out to traditional leaders, they will in turn send out the message against gender-based violence to their communities," she said.

Workshops will be run with traditional leaders, who will then share the information at kgotla (community) meetings, church services, funerals and weddings, according to the UNDP.

Traditional leaders will receive training on conflict resolution, helping to resolve marital disputes and working with the police to report violent behaviour.

Read the full article about gender abuse training by Keletso Thobega at Global Citizen.